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Farm Bureau group moves closer to backing water quality funding

The Iowa Farm Bureau FederaA powerful farm group Wednesday took a step toward supporting a long-term funding source for water quality, with some members arguing the state needs to aggressively ramp up conservation spending to avoid unwanted regulatio

A powerful farm group took a step Wednesday toward supporting a long-term funding source for water quality, with some members arguing the state needs to aggressively ramp up conservation spending to avoid unwanted regulations.

The Iowa Farm Bureau Federation discussed a policy resolution that calls for "long-term dedicated funding for water quality and soil conservation" from either existing state funding or a new source.

The group has broadly supported conservation funding, but it's the first time it has moved to support new funding for water quality, officials said.

The group's 100 delegates, meeting at its West Des Moines headquarters, will vote on the water quality and soil conservation resolution, among several others, on Thursday.

The resolution helps guide the group's lobbying efforts in the Iowa Legislature, where water quality is expected to be hotly debated when its next session convenes in January.

Several water quality financing proposals were floated in the 2016 session, including one from Gov. Terry Branstad, but none gained traction.

Some lawmakers complained the Iowa Farm Bureau, which represents about 159,000 families, was a significant hurdle in passing new financing for water quality.

"We need as an organization to prioritize new revenue sources," said Neil Shaffer of Howard County. "We've been dragging our feet, despite what’s going on. … We can lead and say farmers are supportive, that we want to do something and we want to do it now."

The group stopped short of backing a new three-eighths of 1 cent sales tax to support the Natural Resources and Outdoor Recreation Trust Fund.

And some members Wednesday warned that farmers would face strings or new regulations if the group supports new financing for conservation.

Sixty-three percent of Iowa voters approved creating the fund through a constitutional amendment in 2010. Legislative action is needed to add the sales tax, which would generate an estimated $180 million annually.

Jan Glendening, director of The Nature Conservancy of Iowa, said the sales tax is already supported by a "broad coalition, ranging from conservation groups like The Nature Conservancy to agriculture commodity groups like the Iowa Soybean Association."

"I am confident as this debate continues, more and more organizations and political leaders will support raising the sales tax to fund the trust fund as part of the solution to address Iowa’s serious water quality and soil erosion issues,” she said.

Andy Muff, a farmer near Ventura, said the state, farmers and agribusinesses invested $105 million in conservation practices in 2015. But the Iowa Nutrient Reduction Strategy estimates the state needs to spend for $750 million to $1.2 billion annually over several decades on conservation practices to significantly improve water quality.

The strategy, designed to reduce the size of the dead zone in the Gulf of Mexico, calls for Iowa to reduce rural and urban nitrogen and phosphorus losses by 45 percent.

Also adding pressure to farmers and lawmakers: Des Moines Water Works filed a lawsuit a year ago against drainage districts in Buena Vista, Calhoun and Sac counties, claiming underground tiles there act as conduits that funnel excessive nitrates into the Raccoon River, a source of drinking water for 500,000 customers.

The group's water quality resolution also called for the Natural Resources and Outdoor Recreation Trust Fund to be "more specifically defined," with a focus on "implementing the Nutrient Reduction Strategy and lake or stream restoration."

The group said it sought "minimal emphasis on land acquisition, recreational trails or REAP." The state's Resource Enhancement and Protection program works to protect natural and cultural resources.

Trust fund supporters say up to 60 percent of the funding could be used to help improve Iowa water. The fund's formula calls for spending 10 percent on Iowa's trails.

Matt Schuiteman of Sioux Center said he thought the group needed to "not talk out of both sides of its mouth," pushing lawmakers to rely on existing state revenue when little is left over after large commitments are met.

“We're going to need to lean harder on additional revenues to get the job done.”

Matt Schuiteman

"Existing state revenue, at the scale it's going to take, is going to be hard to come by," Schuiteman said. "We're going to need to lean harder on additional revenues to get the job done."

Some members also said it's difficult for the Farm Bureau to support an increase in the gas tax for statewide road, bridge and other infrastructure needs but oppose a tax increase for conservation practices.

Karen Seipold of Mills County said Iowa farmers need to take action so they're not fighting unwanted regulations.

"The whole nation is looking at us now on water quality," Seipold said. "If we don't do something positive that we can have control of, we're going to be litigating this county by county or landowner by landowner.